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“'Cesca”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Italian	Upper West Side	Moderate	Good

MY DINNER AT ‘CESCA
Mention the word ‘Cesca to anyone with a passing knowledge of NYC food and you’ll most probably hear the something like the following sentence: “Tom Valenti’s the chef of that place, right?” Well, yes, and then no. Valenti, the braised lamb shank king, opened ‘Cesca three years ago, an Italian follow-up to his impossibly popular Ouest, his rustic New American gem a few blocks away. But Valenti departed earlier this year to focus his time on Ouest alone and left the restaurant without a captain. There was a period of chef searching, and then the owners brought in Kevin Garcia, former chef de cuisine of Del Posto, who attributes his knowledge of Tuscan cooking to Maremma’s Cesare Casella. Garcia’s pedigree made him the ideal candidate this popular yet soulful Upper West Side Italian. He spent a year cooking with Mark Ladner at Lupa, and worked at Jean George’s Prime at the Bellagio for two years.

Despite the perfect culinary match, the practicality of taking over a restaurant that is so heavily identified with its former chef and owner is difficult. It is sort of like ending a serious long-term relationship and starting up with someone new. There’s an association with your former partner that sticks to you like a stain. You have to go through the rounds of “No, we are not together anymore,” when people expect to see you together and find you alone. And then, time passes, and yes, you meet someone new. And it’s great. But you’ve gotta go through the introductions to friends again and there’s a period of adjustment for everyone, including you. The new person is going to be different than your old love, but then again, most probably so are you. But hopefully, in time, the dust settles and then you are left with the joy of being with someone new who is seriously wonderful.

So, excuse the drawn out metaphor here, but Garcia is sort of going through this at ‘Cesca. He is the new guy, and he’s trying to make a good impression, but he’s dealing with some ghosts and he’s got to be careful with how aggressively he makes his mark. Like a new guy in a relationship, he’s under some scrutiny. But Garcia has tried (and succeeds) in balancing the shock of being the new guy. The restaurant feels the same, with it’s warm open kitchen, buzzing dark wood bar, and stylish main dining roo ... [more, click below]

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Posted: August 28, 2006

Other restaurants in Upper West Side :
+ 'Cesca   + Asiate   + Blue Hill Stone Barns   + Per Se   + The Neptune Room   + Spigolo   + Telepan   + Aix Brasserie   + 'Cesca   + Bar Boulud   + Dovetail   + BarBao   + Dinosaur Bar-be-Que   + Kefi   + Bar Luna   + Ed's Chowder House   + Red Rooster, by Rachel Barbarotta   + Loi by Dara Pollak   

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